TNC ME Campaign Impact Report 2023 pages - Flipbook - Page 4
CLIMATE & COMMUNITY
BOOSTING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
FOR AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE
“Climate change is primarily a water crisis,” according to the United Nations. Flood,
sea-level rise, drought, wildfire, melting polar ice—all these are problems of water,
either too much or too little, with cascading consequences to nature and to people.
Certainly, in Maine, many problems caused by climate
change are problems of water. Along the coast, towns are
preparing for higher storm surge and sea level rise. Inland,
communities are contending with more intense floods and
washed-out bridges.
How can transportation planners predict which bridges
are likely to flood in a decade or two—and upgrade them
now, before the waters rise too far? How can emergency
services departments know which roads will be impassable
to ambulances after a storm and then make plans for
reaching vulnerable residents?
TNC has developed several online tools, based on decades’
worth of research, to support communities in answering
questions like these. Using the Coastal Risk Explorer (CRE),
community members can see which roads will be impassable
under various levels of sea level rise, how many homes will be
cut off from emergency services, and an estimated cost for
upgrading the infrastructure to avoid damages.
Crucially, the CRE also incorporates social vulnerability characteristics. These are factors like having a disability,
being over 65 and living alone, or not speaking English fluently—all of which can make emergency conditions
especially threatening. Planners can use this information to strategically raise or move roads and locate emergency
medical services based on where their most vulnerable populations are located, reducing the likelihood that they will
be inaccessible during a flood and boosting community resilience.
Our Goals by 2024
Community
44 Towns and Cities
GOAL: AT LEAST 65 TOWNS & CITIES
68%
Number of towns and cities benefitting from environmental risk reduction
16,992 Acres
GOAL: MORE THAN 25,000 ACRES
68%
Acres of freshwater and coastal wetland habitat conserved or restored
4 | A TOUR OF YOUR IMPACT